Guatemala Container Calculator: Instant 2026 Rates

Quick Answer: With AB Group Shipping, a 20 ft container to Guatemala costs from $810 port to port out of Houston (October 2026 quote), and a 40 ft HC from $918. Ocean transit runs 6 days from Houston, 10 from Los Angeles, 14 from New Jersey and 27 from Miami.

Freight rates on this lane move every month, so no single number stays true for long. The calculadora contenedor a guatemala on this page pulls live pricing for your origin, while the price table under the opening answer updates itself.

How much does it cost to ship a container from the USA to Guatemala?

Quick Answer: Port-to-port ocean freight to Guatemala starts at $810 for a 20 ft container and $918 for a 40 ft HC from Houston (October 2026 quote). Prices change monthly and vary by gateway, sailing and season. The live price table below the opening answer always shows current numbers.

Your departure gateway drives the price more than anything else. The Gulf lanes run short and direct to Guatemala's Caribbean coast, so Houston prices low. East Coast and Florida cargo pays more because it often transships.

Here are our October 2026 port-to-port benchmarks for general cargo. Each figure is a starting rate for that month, not a fixed tariff.

What does "port to port" actually mean here?

Port to port means you deliver the cargo to the departure terminal yourself. We move the box across the ocean. You or your agent collect it at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios.

Inland trucking on either end is not in that number. Neither are destination charges, customs fees or duties. Budget for those separately.

Why do the rates change every month?

Carriers reset pricing on a monthly cycle. Several mechanisms push the number around:

• GRI (General Rate Increase) — carriers announce blanket increases on dates they set
• Peak season surcharge — applied when vessel space tightens, typically Q3 and pre-holiday
• BAF and CAF — bunker and currency adjustment factors that track fuel and exchange rates
• Equipment availability — empty container shortages on the Gulf–Caribbean rotation raise spot rates fast

This is why we never publish a fixed tariff. A rate quoted in October may not hold in December.

FCL 20 ft

HoustonUSHOU

→

Santo TomásGTSTC

from · Oct 2026 USD$810 Quote this route →

FCL 40 ft HC

Los AngelesUSLAX

→

GuatemalaGTGUA

from · Oct 2026 USD$2,160 Quote this route →

FCL 20 ft

New JerseyUSNYC

→

Puerto BarriosGTPBR

from · Oct 2026 USD$1,674 Quote this route →

What if your city is not on the list?

Use the nearest listed gateway as an approximation. Your cargo trucks or rails to that port, then sails from there.

• Dallas, San Antonio, Oklahoma City — aprox. Houston pricing, loading at Port Houston
• Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford — aprox. New Jersey pricing, loading at Port of New York and New Jersey
• Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego — aprox. Los Angeles pricing, loading at Los Angeles/Long Beach
• Chicago and the Midwest — rail to Houston or Los Angeles, so aprox. that gateway's rate plus the rail leg
• Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville — aprox. Miami pricing, loading at PortMiami

Do not memorize a figure. Run the calculadora contenedor a guatemala on this page — it prices your exact ZIP against live carrier rates.

What is a container calculator and what does the estimate include?

Quick Answer: A container calculator is a pricing tool that converts four inputs — origin ZIP or port, container size, cargo type and service level — into a live freight estimate. The estimate on this page covers ocean freight and carrier surcharges port to port. It does not include Guatemalan duties, IVA, customs agent fees or inland delivery.

Most shippers overestimate what a calculator can know. It prices freight. It cannot price a customs classification it has never seen.

The four inputs that drive the number

1. Enter your origin ZIP code or port. This decides the gateway and the sailing rotation.
2. Pick your container size: 20'DV, 40'DV or 40'HC. Volume and weight both matter here.
3. Describe the commodity and declared value. Hazardous, reefer and oversized cargo route to a custom quote form.
4. Choose your service level: port to port or a door option. Door options add trucking at one or both ends.

What the estimate covers — and what it leaves out

An estimate is not a booking. A binding quote needs the commodity, gross weight, HS code and a confirmed sailing date. Tools like the Free Container Shipping Cost Calculator follow the same logic across other trade lanes.

The same four-input logic powers our other lane calculators. See Shipping to Nigeria Calculator: Instant 2026 Rates for how the tool handles a longer, transshipment-heavy route.

Which container size should you book: 20 ft, 40 ft or 40 ft HC?

Quick Answer: Book a 20 ft container for smaller volumes of dense cargo, a 40 ft for larger loads, and a 40 ft HC for light, bulky freight. The HC costs only slightly more than a standard 40 ft, which makes it worth comparing for light cargo. Check the exact capacity and payload of your box with the carrier.

Container choice is a volume-versus-weight decision. Pick wrong and you pay twice — once for empty air, or once for a second box you did not plan.

The payload trap on a 20 ft box

A 20 ft container fills on weight long before it fills on volume. Load ceramic tile, canned beverages or machine castings and you hit the payload ceiling at half the cubic capacity.

Check your gross weight before you book. An overweight container gets rejected at the terminal gate, and you pay for the restow.

Why the 40 ft HC usually wins on cost per CBM

Compare the October 2026 Houston numbers. A 40 ft HC at $918 gives you more than twice the cubic space of a 20 ft at $810.

Is LCL cheaper than a full container to Guatemala?

Quick Answer: LCL is cheaper below roughly 10–13 CBM. Above that threshold, a 20 ft FCL usually wins on cost per cubic meter and avoids CFS deconsolidation delays at destination. Run both options in the calculator — it prices your exact volume against the full-container rate for the same gateway.

The math is straightforward. LCL charges per cubic meter. FCL charges a flat rate for the whole box.

Running the break-even calculation

Divide your FCL rate by your usable CBM. Compare that figure to the LCL per-CBM rate for the same lane.

Take the October 2026 Houston 20 ft at $810. Across 28 usable CBM of real-world stowage, that is about $29 per CBM on freight alone. Most LCL pricing on Central American lanes sits well above that.

The crossover point lands between 10 and 13 CBM for most commodities. Under 10 CBM, LCL almost always wins. Over 13 CBM, book the full container.

The handling realities LCL adds

• Origin CFS cut-off — your cargo must reach the consolidation warehouse days before the vessel cut-off
• Consolidation window — the NVOCC waits for the box to fill, which can add 3 to 7 days before the cargo even sails
• Deconsolidation at destination — the container is stripped at a CFS, and your pallets wait their turn
• Almacenaje — storage clocks run during deconsolidation, and free time is shorter than most shippers expect

LCL shipments travel under a master bill of lading issued to the consolidator. You receive a house bill of lading (HBL) from the NVOCC. Make sure the consignee details on the HBL match the importer's records exactly.

For per-CBM pricing and the weekly sailing schedule, see LCL Shipping USA to Guatemala 2026: Instant Quotes.

How long does a container take to reach Guatemala from each US port?

Quick Answer: Port-to-port ocean transit to Guatemala runs 6 days from Houston, 10 days from Los Angeles, 14 days from New Jersey and 27 days from Miami (October 2026 schedules). Transshipment through Caribbean hubs explains why Miami is slower than Houston despite being closer on the map.

Why Miami is slower than Houston

Geography lies on this lane. Miami sits closer to Guatemala on a map, but the direct service out of PortMiami is thin.

Most Miami boxes transship through a Caribbean hub. The container discharges, waits for a feeder connection, then reloads. That dwell adds two weeks.

Houston runs a short, direct Gulf rotation. The vessel loads, sails and discharges without an intermediate call.

Cut-off, ETD and ETA are three different dates

Shippers miss sailings by confusing these. Here is the sequence:

• Documentation cut-off — the last moment to submit B/L instructions, usually 72 hours before ETD
• Port cut-off — the last gate-in time for the loaded container, set by the terminal for each sailing, so check it on your booking
• Vessel ETD — the scheduled departure, which can slip by a day or two
• ETA — the scheduled arrival at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios

Plan your trucking against the port cut-off, never the ETD. A container that gates in late rolls to the next sailing, and on a weekly service that costs seven days.

Which gateway should your region use?

• Texas and the central states → Port Houston, the fastest and cheapest to Guatemala
• California and the Southwest → Los Angeles/Long Beach, arriving at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios on the Caribbean side
• The Northeast → Port of New York and New Jersey
• Florida and the Southeast → PortMiami, with Savannah as an alternative
• The Midwest → rail to Houston or Los Angeles, then ocean

Puerto Quetzal or Santo Tomás de Castilla: which port fits your cargo?

Quick Answer: Puerto Quetzal (GTPRQ) is Guatemala's Pacific port and serves cargo from Asia and the US West Coast. Santo Tomás de Castilla and Puerto Barrios sit on the Caribbean side and serve the US Gulf, East Coast and Europe. AB Group Shipping delivers port to port at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios.

According to the Comisión Portuaria Nacional de Guatemala, Puerto Quetzal is the country's Pacific port and Santo Tomás is its Caribbean port (Enlace Portuario, Edición Bicentenaria 28, 2021). That split decides your routing.

What picking the wrong coast costs you

A container discharged on the wrong side travels the length of the country by truck. That is roughly 300 km of inland haulage you did not budget for, plus a day of transit.

Match the coast to the gateway. Asian cargo often goes Pacific, while our Los Angeles containers arrive on the Caribbean side. Gulf, East Coast and European cargo goes Caribbean.

Destination handling and door delivery inside Guatemala are not part of AB Group Shipping's port-to-port freight. We quote them separately on request, through the same form.

How do you calculate import duties and IVA on a container in Guatemala?

Quick Answer: Guatemala charges DAI under the Central American common external tariff, from zero to 15 percent for most agricultural and industrial goods, then 12% IVA. On imports, the IVA base is the CIF price plus the customs duties and other surcharges charged on the import, per Decreto 27-92 article 13.

Your freight quote and your tax bill are two separate calculations. The calculadora contenedor a guatemala prices the first. This section explains the second.

Start from the CIF value

CIF means Cost, Insurance and Freight — the value of the goods plus the ocean freight plus the insurance premium. On imports, the IVA base starts from that CIF figure (Decreto 27-92 art. 13); confirm with a licensed customs agent how duty is valued for your goods.

The worked example

Assume a CIF value of $20,000 and a DAI rate of 10%. Here is the arithmetic, step by step:

1. Calculate the DAI: $20,000 CIF × 10% = $2,000
2. Build the IVA base: $20,000 CIF + $2,000 DAI = $22,000
3. Apply the IVA: $22,000 × 12% = $2,640
4. Total duties and tax: $2,000 + $2,640 = $4,640

That worked example uses a hypothetical 10% DAI. Your actual rate depends entirely on the tariff heading of your goods.

The rates you need to know

• DAI — zero to 15 percent for most agricultural and industrial goods, under the Central American common external tariff [US Country Commercial Guide Guatemala, "Import Tariffs", 2026-03-03]
• Tariff exceptions — up to 40% for alcoholic beverages and 20% for cigarettes, various vehicles and firearms [same source]
• IVA — 12% of the taxable base [Decreto 27-92, Ley del IVA, art. 10]
• IVA base on imports — the CIF price plus the customs duties and other surcharges charged on the import [Decreto 27-92 art. 13 numeral 1]

CAFTA-DR preferential duty

US-origin goods may qualify for reduced or zero duty under CAFTA-DR. According to US Customs and Border Protection, the CA-4 countries clear on the DUCA form, and a certificate of origin is required for CAFTA-DR preferential duty (CBP, CAFTA-DR, 2023-06-01).

Guatemala's SAT confirms the same requirement: a certificate of origin when preferential tariff treatment is claimed (SAT, Preguntas Frecuentes – Temas Aduaneros).

Which documents and which Incoterm do you need for Guatemala customs?

Quick Answer: Guatemala and the other CA-4 countries clear imports on the DUCA, the single Central American customs declaration. You also need the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and, for CAFTA-DR preferential duty, a certificate of origin. Your Incoterm decides which of those charges land in your calculator estimate.

The DUCA — Declaración Única Centroamericana — is the shared customs declaration used across the CA-4 region. CBP's CAFTA-DR guidance confirms the CA-4 countries use it, with a certificate of origin required for preferential treatment.

Your document checklist

• DUCA — the Central American customs declaration
• Factura comercial — commercial invoice with values, terms and full consignee details
• Packing list — piece counts, weights and dimensions matching the invoice
• Bill of lading (B/L) — the ocean carrier's title document, released against payment
• Certificado de origen — required when claiming CAFTA-DR preferential duty

How your Incoterm changes the number

Requirements we could not verify in an official source — NIT and RTU rules, inspection practice, clearance timelines and agent fee schedules — should be confirmed with us or with a licensed agente aduanero before you book.

Can you ship household goods or a vehicle in the same container?

Quick Answer: Household goods can move under the menaje de casa franchise, which relieves a returning resident of DAI only — the 12% IVA still applies. Vehicles are never part of menaje de casa under RECAUCA article 585, and neither is machinery, equipment or tools for offices, laboratories, factories or workshops.

What menaje de casa actually covers

The menaje de casa franchise relieves a returning resident of DAI only. The 12% IVA still applies [SAT DG-IAD/DNO-ADU-GOA-12 version IV, row 17; Decreto 27-92 arts. 7 and 10].

SAT's Unidad de Franquicias y Asuntos Aduanales handles franchise applications electronically through the Agencia Virtual. SAT reissued the rule sheet as version IV, approved 21 July 2025 and in force 25 July 2025.

Iniciativa 6603, the "Ley de Encomiendas", was presented on 26 August 2025 and passed first debate on 12 May 2026. It is a bill, not a law. Do not plan a shipment around it.

Shipping a vehicle to Guatemala

A general-cargo container rate never prices a vehicle. It carries no vehicle handling and no vehicle markup.

• One car alone — priced on the vehicle line, not the container rate
• Cars sharing a 40 ft — priced with the shared-container approximation per car, always written approx.
• RoRo — approximate pricing only, quoted against the nearest listed origin and its port of loading

Guatemala's IPRIMA rate for hybrid and electric vehicles is 5%, under Decreto 10-2012 art. 114 row 14 as amended by Decreto 40-2022 art. 9. Tariff exceptions of up to 20% apply to various vehicles under the common external tariff.

For loading math and shared-container pricing, see Cars Per Container Calculator: 1-4 Cars, 2026 Rates. For a long-haul comparison, see Car Shipping Calculator: Canada to Argentina 2026. Shipping components instead? Read Importing Auto Parts from USA to Guatemala: Full Guide.

Prohibited and restricted goods

• Pseudoephedrine — importation, commercialization and distribution of pseudoephedrine and any product containing it have been prohibited in Guatemala since April 2009 [US Country Commercial Guide Guatemala, "Prohibited & Restricted Imports", 2026-03-03]
• High-powered weapons — a Guatemalan law virtually prohibits their import [same source]

Anything else about eligibility, permits or restricted categories: confirm it with us or with a licensed customs agent before you buy or ship.

Price your Guatemala container now

Quick Answer: The calculator on this page prices your exact origin ZIP, container size and service level against live October 2026 carrier rates. Enter four fields and you get a ranged estimate in seconds. No email, no sales call, no waiting for a reply.

With thousands of shipments moved across the USA–Latin America corridor, we price this lane every week. Rates shift monthly, which is why the number on the page beats any figure you copy into a spreadsheet.

Run your 20 ft against your 40 ft HC. Run FCL against LCL at your real volume. Compare Houston against your local gateway. The calculadora contenedor a guatemala on this page handles all of it — then book the sailing that fits your cut-off.